Power
I was browsing a book yesterday about a power workout, by a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu master named Gracie.
I’ve read his stuff in the past, and think his martial art is downright amazing. If I had the discipline, the money, and the several extra hours to throw into my week, I’d probably want to learn this martial art over any other. But whatever. This is about power.
The workout in his book was SO dynamic, and focused heavily on functional power. I mean, this guy needs a lot of power to be able to throw people around, fight while on the ground, and whatever else he does. (Having absolutely no ability to speak intelligently on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, I’ll let you form your own visual image of what they do).
I like that. I’m big on functional strength. That’s what I liked about Core Performance
, by Verstegen. That’s what I like about parts of the lifting I’m doing now. I just get the feeling that I’m building muscle for a purpose, and not for chrome.
Kat and I were talking about that this morning. She was mentioning that she’d started doing some specific exercises when she noticed something shifting in her daily power. I think that’s at the heart of all this effort. I mean, why work out if you’re not sure what you’re going to do with your body?
But there’s a rub, too, right? If you’re training for multisports, you’re likely having to find some happy mediums, right? There are books about it, I notice.
But what if you’re training to be a superhero? Military training is the closest I can imagine. What’s anyone else’s thought?
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Comments
Oh, oh, oh! I absolutely love Royce Gracie, he’s a total hero of mine. Brazilian jiu-jitsu (and Gracie jiu-jitsu in particular) completely changed the fighting world. Up until he came along everybody thought that the best way to win a fight was to punch the guy hard enough that he fell down. But then Royce arrives and shows everybody that the best way to win is with patience and joint locks. It’s so fabulous.
And I completely concur with you … if I was ever going to learn a martial art (which is an idea I’ve been tossing around pretty regularly for a couple years) I would want to learn Gracie jiu-jitsu over all the others.
So have you watched all the Ultimate Fighting Championships with him in them?
hey chris–have you ever looked into fung shui? i was just curious. i’m thinking about browsing a book on it to check out the principles behind it (not any religion behind it but just the general principles)
-brent @ metrxman.blogspot